Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup

Boyfriend has a bad cold. He's been sick for a few days now, with a very sore throat, and a bad cough. He hasn't felt like eating much, so I thought chicken soup would be just the ticket to a speedy recovery. Yesterday, all he ate was canned chicken noodle soup, so today I tried to make something slightly different. This is a great comfort soup, and is a great way to use up stuff you have around the house.



The Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, large dice
1 medium bulb fennel, medium dice
1 medium onion, medium dice
2 stalks celery, medium dice
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 quart chicken stock (I had some homemade stock frozen, but a low sodium store bought stock would be fine, too)
1 package noodles (I found some spinach chive linguini at Trader Joes that I though might be tasty in the soup. But egg noodles, pastini, rotini, or whatever pasta you like would be fine. This would also be a great way to use up ends of boxes of pasta, if you're like me and have multiple boxes of pasta with one serving or less remaining.)
dark leafy greens, if you have them (I had some kale in the fridge, so threw it in)

Meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 egg
1 sprig thyme, minced
1 pinch dried minced onion
1 pinch garlic powder
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp grill seasoning
1 shallot, grated

The Directions:
1. Heat dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat through. Add carrots, fennel, onion, and celery, and sauté 5 minutes, until they start to become tender. Add 2 sprigs thyme, bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté 1 or 2 minutes more. Add stock, and bring to boil.
2. While stock is coming to boil, make meatballs. Combine all meatball ingredients and combine well with hands. Do not over mix. Form golf ball sized meatballs, and drop into soup. (I ended up using about 2/3 of the meatball mix before deciding that was enough for 2 of us. So I'm saving the rest and will bake off meatballs tomorrow for lunch. 350° for about 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through) Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook 45 minutes or so. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors will combine.
3. Before serving, bring back to boil and add noodles to soup. Cook until noodles are al dente. If you like, add a few handfuls of dark, leafy greens, chopped to bite sized pieces when you add the noodles.

This was SO good. It had tons of flavor, and the whole apartment smelled yummy. I loved having meatballs, rather than shredded chicken, since I think it gave an additional depth of flavor. The kale was a great twist, too. I wanted to boost the healthy factor, so Boyfriend will feel better as soon as possible, and thought that the vitamins in the kale would be a good way to start. And it's such a hearty green, that it doesn't get too soggy or soft. We have enough left over for a couple of lunches, and I think we'll both be sad when it's gone. I may have to make another pot!

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

This is another favorite in our house. I have played around with a number of meatball recipes, and have found that adding grated onion and garlic not only gives a ton of flavor to the meatballs, but they keep them incredibly moist! If I'm in a rush, I sometimes bake the meatballs and then add them to the sauce, but cooking them in the sauce for as long as possible makes the most flavorful meatballs and sauce, so I try to do that when I have the time.

The Ingredients:

-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 spanish onion, fine dice
-1 clove garlic, smashed
-¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
-½ cup wine (Whatever you have on hand. Stock will also work if you prefer)
-2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
-Salt and Pepper, to taste
-2 lbs ground turkey
-½ Spanish onion, grated on Microplane or box grater
-2 cloves garlic, grated on Microplane
-1 tbsp minced parsley (or other herbs you have on hand - I have also used oregano and basil in this recipe)
-½ cup breadcrumbs (I get breadcrumbs from my local bakery - a bit of a splurge, but I keep a bag of the breadcrumbs wrapped tightly in the freezer and they last for months!)
-1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
-1 tsp tomato paste
-½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
-1 egg
-1 box spaghetti

The Directions:

1. Heat dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Sweat diced onion, about 5 minutes. Add 1 smashed clove of garlic and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, sauté 1 minute. Deglaze with wine (red or white, whatever you have on hand), and reduce 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. In large bowl, combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano, tomato paste, grated garlic, grated onion, minced parsley, red pepper flakes, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Form turkey mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs and drop into simmering sauce. Cover and simmer. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors will combine. I try to cook for about 2 hours, but cook at least until the meatballs are cooked through. Stir occasionally.
4. Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Toss spaghetti with half a cup of tomato sauce, then serve and top with more sauce and meatballs.

I served this tonight with some simple roast broccolini: I tossed broccolini with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a splash of olive oil, then sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano, and roasted at 450°F for about 15 minutes, until the tips started turning brown and a bit crispy. It's a perfect hearty dinner for the cold weather we've been having. And we have plenty of meatballs left over for sandwiches during the week!